Iran vows to fight on in first message issued in name of Mojtaba Khamenei

Tehran will keep strait of Hormuz closed and continue attacks on US assets, speech read out on state TV says

Iran issued its first message in the name of its new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, on Thursday, saying it would keep the strait of Hormuz closed and continue to attack US bases in the region.

The missive was read out on state TV rather than delivered live or on video, however, and will do little to satisfy those seeking proof that the son of the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is actually alive.

In the message, Khamenei said he would demand compensation from the US for its attacks, and that if Washington refused he would order the destruction of its assets equivalent to the amount Iran is owed.

With doubts circulating about his health after the lethal attack on his father’s compound on the first day of the US-Israeli assault, the message read out on state TV is bound to be examined closely for the first clues of the kind of leadership the previously backroom politician intends to provide.

Described as a hardliner close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, Khamenei, 56, said little in his message about the recent internal divisions in the country save to praise “the masses of people who have gathered in magnificent assemblies to reaffirm their allegiance to the system”.

“There must be no harm to the unity of the nation among the individuals and groups of the nation which usually becomes specially evident in times of hardship,” he said, calling for “points of disagreement” to be overlooked. He also showered praise on the Iranian people for standing up to the aggressor, saying it had brought admiration from friends and astonishment from enemies.

He said he was sure the masses wanted Iran to continue on its path and that “certainly the leverage of blocking the strait of Hormuz must continue to be used. Studies have been made about opening other fronts where the enemy has little experience and and will be severely vulnerable”.

He also praised the Houthis in Yemen and Hezbollah in Lebanon for coming to Iran’s aid despite all the obstacles, although the Houthis have so far kept out of the conflict.

He vowed Iran would avenge the “blood of your martyrs”, including the estimated 175 people killed in missile strike on an elementary school in Minab. A preliminary US military investigation is reported to have determined that Washington was responsible for the attack.

Addressing relations with Iran’s Gulf neighbours after Tehran’s daily barrages of missiles and drones, Khamenei said: “The enemy has gradually established bases, both military and financial, in some of these countries over the years to secure its dominance over the region.

“In the recent attack, some military bases were used, and naturally, as we had explicitly warned and without any aggression towards those countries, we only targeted those bases. From now on, we will inevitably continue this action, although we still believe in the necessity of friendship between ourselves and those neighbours.”

He urged the Gulf States to “clarify their stance towards the aggressors of our dear homeland and the killers of our people. I recommend that they close those bases as soon as possible, because by now they must have realised that America’s claim of establishing security and peace was nothing but a lie.”

Unlike Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, last weekend, Khamenei did not offer any apology for the damage inflicted on the Gulf states, insisting Tehran was not seeking to colonise or dominate. He said the Gulf leaders would forge stronger bonds with their own people and increase their wealth if they severed their countries’ ties with Washington.

He said he learnt about his elevation from watching television, and admitted the task was difficult for him. He also referred to his loss of family in the US-Israeli attack. “Apart from my father, whose loss has become a public matter, I have lost my dear and loyal wife … my devoted sister who dedicated herself to serving our parents and ultimately received her due reward, her young child and the wife of another sister … to the caravan of martyrs,” he said.

He also revealed that he had been to see the body of his father. No date for his funeral has been set.